The high-tech sensor that finds out how spicy a chilli sauce is - without tasting it

Scientists in the UK have developed a hi-tech sensor that means you can find out how hot a chilli sauce is - without tasting it.

The gadget works by measuring levels of capsaicinoids, the substance that makes chillies spicy.

The technology could soon be made available as a cheap disposal sensor for chefs, the researchers hope.

The device is based on the Scoville rating, which measures the number of dilutions in a chilli sauce.

Ouch! A man takes part in a chilli eating competition. Chefs could now test their chillis without the pain of tasting them

This is the number of times the sauce would need to be diluted to make the capsaicin undetectable. So the higher the number of dilutions, the spicier the sauce.

For instance the mild Jalapeno chilli ranges from 2,500 - 8,000, while the world's hottest chilli, the Naga Jolokia, has a rating of 1,000,000.

The new test uses carbon nanotubes and it gives a reading in less than a minute using a similar technology to that used by diabetics to test blood sugar levels.

'It is a simple little device based on nanotechnology,' Professor Richard Compton, who is leading the research, told the BBC.

The current industry procedure relies on a panel of people tasting spicy foods and is therefore subjective.

'You might think we can all eat the hottest chillies,' said Professor Richard Compton, who leads the research. 'But actually there is a number that you can ascribe to a sauce or even a curry in a restaurant that quantifies how hot the chilli content is.

'It is called the Scoville Unit and it requires a panel of no less than five allegedly expert tasters.

'They get a sample of the chilli and keep on diluting it until they can't possibly taste any more chilli there.'

Professor Compton said it is a simple device that gives similar results to tasters who use the old Scoville system.

'We can dip it into the sauce and we get an electrical signal which gives us a number, which matches up with the subjective Scoville units really rather agreeably well.'

The researchers hope to license the technology to an Indian food company.

'We have been looking at the chemical properties of nanotubes for a while, so the impetus comes from fundamental science,' said Professor Compton.

The chemist said he did not think the new testing method would make him a millionaire, 'but it's all good fun.'